Saturday, 16 January 2016

Get Me Free #149: Jade The Moon - U Take Care

Article by KevW

Toronto-based artist Jade The Moon released her debut album 'Habits and Hindrance' back in November, built on the theme of vicious cycles that humans, willingly or otherwise, put themselves through. Single 'U Take Care' is mysterious and open to interpretation especially when combined with the intriguing video. The title implies that she's telling, or asking someone to take care, but the lyric "I love the way you take care of me" would suggest she's being looked after by someone (or maybe something?). Another potential meaning arises when that line is simply sung as "I love the way you take care", which suggests the person in question is taking love without returning it.

The last theory may seem unlikely, but the song is peppered with similar statements that back it up: "I love the way you spoil me/you didn't know what you've done to me". Which meaning of the word "spoil" do we take, and what has he/she/it done? The video makes this slightly ambiguous too, as Jade is closely followed by a may who appears to be guarding her, dressed in black (in contrast to her white) and following her every move. The character ends up looking more like a stalker than a guardian. Musically 'U Take Care' is similarly difficult to pin down, and could be described as electro-pop, indie, trip-hop, alt-pop or a combination of all and more. It's intricately pieced together and made in such a way that those piercing vocals really strike a chord and create the suitable atmosphere for such an enigmatic track. Seductive and ominous at the same time, it's a striking combination.